Saul Niguez is blossoming into a world class player with Luis Enrique installing the midfielder as one of his key players to start a new era in Spanish football.

The Atletico Madrid star scored in both internationals during the break: at Wembley in the 2-1 victory over England and against Croatia in the 6-0 win over the World Cup finalists.

The 23-year-old also has the trust of Diego Simeone at club level.

Saul as the poster boy of a new Spain side, having not played a single minute for La Furia Roja in Russia at the failed World Cup campaign, is attracting widespread interest.

And Barcelona are in pole position to sign him, should he ever look to move.

That's because the Catalans secured an option for first refusal on the player as part of the sale of David Villa to Atleti in 2013.

Saul Niguez shone vs England (Image: Getty Images Europe)

The Atletico star is blossoming into one of Europe's most complete midfielders (Image: PA)

The fee of €5.1m was a bargain at the time for Atleti, though Barcelona will be delighted to know that should their La Liga rivals ever sell Saul, they will be ready to pounce, according to Mundo Deportivo.

Should another club convince Atleti to cash in on Saul, they will be obliged to notify the Blaugrana, who will then have the choice to match that offer.

Saul tracks Gareth Bale (Image: Getty Images Europe)

The deal in fact included the same option for another player: Javier Manquillo.

Saul's release clause is now set at €150m (£134m), with the contract running until 2026.

The Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo have run a poll asking readers whether they would opt to pay €150m for Saul, and surprisingly 74 percent, from more than 8,000 votes, have said no.